Online Reviews: Why They Can't Be Ignored

Back in the days before Yelp, Google+, Angie's List, and Zagat (among
others), it used to be that you would ask your friends for recommendations:
best new restaurant in town, most reliable mechanic, etc. If you were
on a business trip or family vacation, the concierge at your hotel was
the individual who held all of the best-kept secrets of whichever town
you happened to be visiting. But, much like the dial-up modem, those days
have gone the way of the dinosaur. Enter online review websites.

Consumers Want the Real Story

Sites like those mentioned above have skyrocketed in popularity over the
past five years, mainly because consumers want the real story. They want
the unadulterated version of the business experience they can expect to
receive and they have decided the most trustworthy way to get that information
is through consumer review sites.

Which car dealership won't rip you off? How is that new gym that just
opened across town? Questions like these can be answered with a few clicks
of the mouse. Yelp, for instance, is completely driven and comprised of
user reviews. The perception as a consumer is that you're getting
the whole truth and nothing but the truth, which is precisely what consumers want.

This major shift in consumer pre-purchase research has placed an exponential
amount of importance on two things:

Getting Good Reviews

Getting Lots of Them

Think of these reviews as billboards that online users are going to be
driving by on the information superhighway daily. You want them to be
positive and plentiful.

Getting Started with Your Online Reputation

So how do you do it?

Start by making sure your law firm has a presence on popular online review sites. Set up profiles for your firm on these sites, and fill them out with as
much helpful information as possible. Include a brief description of your
firm and your services, post your hours of operation, upload photos of
your office, etc.

If your firm isn’t present on sites like Yelp and Avvo in the first
place, you’ll have no way for clients to leave you reviews, and
you’ll eliminate a valuable source of potential new business for
your practice.

Once you set up your profiles, it’s important to keep them accurate
and up-to-date so you can maximize your firm’s visibility to both prospects and
search engines like Google.

Google has stated that their algorithms take into account your "online
footprint" as a factor when ranking websites. The more positive information
you have floating out there, the better. Additionally, as Google gives
more relevance to online directory and listings within organic search
results, review sites such as Yelp and Google+ are often featured prominently
within those results. Having your site featured with a nice score and
5 stars next to it could absolutely affect the visitor's likelihood
of clicking on your listing.

So, when you start to put together or reassess your business goals and
marketing initiatives for your company, you would be sorely mistaken to
leave out this vital and increasingly important aspect. At Scorpion, we
have identified this important issue and have factored it in to our marketing
solution. We will set up, manage, and help you with your online review
accounts to ensure you are putting yourself and your business in the right
light to land that next client.

Get in touch with us to find out how we can help you optimize your online presence.

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About the Author

Kevin Thomson is the Vice President of Client Experience at Scorpion. He has extensive experience helping clients across various industries grow their businesses through successful digital marketing. As VP of Client Experience, he works to ensure clients are receiving the highest quality of service and the most effective Internet marketing solutions. Prior to joining Scorpion, Kevin was a management representative for an entertainment firm, where he managed the financial and personal affairs of numerous high-profile clients.
Outside of the office, Kevin enjoys spending time with his wife, daughter, and three dogs. He is a Los Angeles Lakers fan and an avid reader of self-development books.